The Bass Clef
by ViidGame
Summary: What if Echo Town had one more bachelorette? What if the rival system from earlier instalments of the franchise was partially resored for this game? Can silky chicken eggs win the new young woman over, or (and much more likely) will a complex, rhythmic bassline ? —and what's up with her and a certain redhead? [Eventual Henry/OC/Neil]
1. Chapter One - A New Shop

**Chapter One – A New Shop**

Rod talked, Neil listened.

It had never been planned in advance, that's just how things worked out. The pet seller had much to share, experiences to talk about and people to fondly remember ever since he came back to his hometown of Echo Town. The animal dealer, though, kept to himself and tended to soak in information instead and play it safe, stick to what he knew and liked. Ever since he left his previous house —a place he had never sought to call home — he had never moved out of that same town.

But that still hadn't stopped him from yearning for new things, deep down. He just didn't do anything about it.

Once Allen, a hair dresser, had moved back in that quiet town, Neil had noticed that Rod spent a little bit less time with him. He didn't really mind, but that was when he realized he and the ginger were friends. He honestly liked the idea. He knew Allen and Rod were childhood friends, having heard countless anecdotes concerning the two of them, curtesy of Rod, but there was something bugging him. It wasn't much, but Rod had _another_ childhood friend.

A girl, named Iris.

Neil didn't really know much about her, he could only recall a dozen or so anecdotes relating the three of them. Others; just her and Rod. It had been obvious with the way the ginger talked about her that he was quite fond of her, maybe even had had a crush on her for some time and had never done anything about it, deciding to suppress it, which was what concerned Neil.

If she was to come back, as Allen did, would he still be able to call Rod his friend if he never spent time with him anymore? Would he have lost someone else because he never was able to behave in a socially acceptable manner? He had awful people skills, even if he owned his own store, and he was for once afraid to suffer for it.

A few years had passed since then, and there were no signs that this 'Iris' girl would move in, much to his relief. He had told himself some time ago that if she was to move in his little town, she would have done so days after Allen had moved in as well. The inn had been rebuilt for a while, or she would have crashed in one of her friends' place until Henry built her her own.

Oh, how life can be cruel, sometimes...

* * *

><p>Neil had told himself a while back that when a new shop opened up in town, he had to visit it at least once. It was only the polite thing to do. Following that, he didn't really care if he went back or not, it depended entirely over what the shop was — or the person maintaining it. That was why he was standing in front of Echo Town's newest little shop. One thing was certain already, though, and that was that he would come back often.<p>

Pulling open the glass door, the overhead bell echoed in a soft chime. The lightning inside the shop was surprisingly dim, since the modern-styled building was practically made out of large, slightly tinted windows. The floor was made out of very dark hardwood, the same colour as some of the outside walls, while most of the furniture was white, like the rest of the place's exterior. Green plants were the only decoration, if you didn't count the various large posters hanging from every empty chocolate-painted walls. Wait, the back wall was cream coffee. It was hard to tell with all the posters...

A few good-quality black speakers hung from high up on the walls, music he enjoyed — but did not recognize — playing from them in a reasonable volume. Two rows of electric guitars and basses were hung on the left wall, arrayed by colour, with the black and white ones on either ends. Classic guitars hung from the ceiling to create some sort of nearby row, amplifiers of various sizes to the ground below. On the room's opposite side, hundreds of CDs were openly displayed in rows, obviously classed by genre, and most likely again by artist.

In the back of the room, where the register rested, a girl his age stood behind a glass counter, fiddling with a navy blue rectangular vase filled with colourful drumsticks. She had looked up at him when he had first entered and had flashed him a kind smile, only to continue with arranging the counter to her taste, brushing a long flat chestnut lock from her face. He couldn't see it from where he currently stood, but beneath the glass there were various guitar-playing accessories and cables.

This was a music shop, _The Bass Clef._

The animal dealer's crimson gaze wandered towards the CDs, searching for the rock section. He quickly found it and headed towards it, curious to see if one of his favourite bands' newest album was here. Since it was, and at a very reasonable price at that, he decided to purchase it right then and there. He wordlessly headed towards the counter. It was then that the young man couldn't help but notice that the girl's eyes were a very familiar shade of deep blue...

"I'm—," she kindly started, only to be interrupted by a very familiar voice coming from upstairs.

"Hey, can you help—" the voice said, coming from down the nearby spiral staircase, only to cut itself off in turn. "Neil?"

Looking up, he saw a very cheerful Rod grinning down at him. Dread froze the blood running through his veins, and the grip on his newest CD tightened. No, this couldn't be happening, not now, not ever! He glanced at the girl, who was looking at him with great curiosity.

"Neil, great timing!" the other young man grinned, climbing down the few stairs he had left. "Neil, this is Iris, Iris, this is Neil!" he cheerfully introduced the two of them, which only drove the stake the animal dealer felt in his heart much deeper.

Well, friendship had been nice while it lasted...

"Nice to meet you," the girl kindly said, reaching out to shake his hands. He shook it, but his every movement felt like thousands of needles were driven into his muscles, tearing them apart.

He didn't even realize he was scowling at her, for he was too deep in thought. He turned on his heels, forgot the CD on the counter and practically stormed out of the new shop. To be honest, Iris wasn't all that surprised; Rod had warned her about this 'Neil' fellow.

"So you really weren't kidding when you said his face might just crack if he smiled," she pointed out with a good-natured smirk.

"He's not that bad," Rod defended, with a smile of his own. "Usually, at least. You just have to get to know him better." He looked back at her. "I'm sure he's glad to have new friend, deep down."

"How deep, though?" Iris asked, a bit worried. "Something about me ticks him off. He was fine until you showed up and told him my name..." she trailed off, before her gaze narrowed. "What did you say to him about me?"

He raised his hands in innocence. "Only really good things!" he replied. "I didn't even mention Lilly!" Something flashed behind his eyes. "You should make them meet. I'm sure he'd like her!"

"I'll have to trust you on that one," she replied, smiling. She looked back down on the counter, only to see the forgotten plastic case. Neil hadn't yet paid for it, but she still wanted to give it back to him. Not to mention it was from one of her favourite bands as well. "Is he the guy that plays bass?" she asked, since Rod had been quite vague on that subject.

"Maybe," the other sung with a huge grin.

"We'll probably get along just fine, then," she said, thinking about her own guitars, upstairs.

"Hey, Ri, I still need your help up there," Rod said, suddenly remembering why he had come down in the first place.

"You didn't mess up my bookcase again, did you?" she teased, swiftly following the ginger up the spiral staircase.

Meanwhile, Neil was glaring a hole through his wall. Iris was there, that meant what little friendship he and Rod had was to be shattered to pieces by that damned girl. Worse part was, both she and Rod were completely oblivious to what he was sure would soon transpire.

_'It's not like I need friends in the first place,'_ he thought to himself, shaking his head. He was perfectly fine before Rod came along, and so he would be now, right?

Right?  
>Right...<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>A.N.<strong>** Here goes the first chapter! What do you think so far? I'm gonna post two more chapters today, and then I'll try my best to post another one each week or so. I'm terribly sorry for how short this is, (I'm used to write 3000+ word chapters) but lately, I'm having trouble with even reaching half of my usual quota... So this'll have to do until I get over it, sorry. Any criticism is more than welcomed! **

**By the way, I've always imagined Neil to have Gideon Emery's voice, what do you think? Accent and all. If you don't know how he sounds like, just type 'Fenris and Varric party banter' on youtube. Gideon voices Fenris, the Elf. :3 He also voices the male crusader in 'Diablo: Reaper of Souls'. (Totally didn't create a male character just to listen to his voice, **_**nooo **_**;3)**

**Disclaimer;**** Anything you can recognize isn't mine, I'll only say it once, right here. I most likely will mention band names and the likes in future chapters too, but it's just to add a tangible depth to the story! :3 I just 'own' Iris, in a way, and the plot of this little story~ :P**

**Have a nice day!  
><strong>**~Viid**


	2. Chapter Two - Them Eggs

**Chapter Two – Them Eggs**

A week had flown by, and Iris had now met everyone. The small town was still in the middle of being rebuilt, thanks to a hard-working farmer named Henry that could actually literally rebuild it, house by house. If you didn't count her shop, Rod's and Neil's, there was a restaurant, an inn, a blacksmith, a tailor, a general shop, a clinic, a newspaper carrier and a damn hair salon.

Well, it wasn't the salon that was damned, but the arrogant, annoying twat brother of hers that ran it.

Yeah, she was Allen's younger sister, by two years actually, but while they had gotten along perfectly well when they were little kids, the redhead had grown up to bug the hell out of Iris. He was already embarrassing her in front of some girl named Felicity...

"She was so adorable in that sparkly pink dress, too! She always wore that golden crown, and she always asked me style her hair like Aurora's."

"Just stop..." Iris irritably groaned, hiding her face in her chestnut-coloured locks. She greatly regretted coming over to the restaurant to try out their key lime pie, her favourite. Now, the dessert laid forgotten, and she was slouched over the table, arms crossed on it and head buried there. "Go away."

Allen was talking about Iris's early childhood. You'd never guess with the way he talked that once she entered pre-school and picked up her first kiddie guitar, she had refused to play princess since then, too absorbed in her passion for music. She even had had that cute, tiny electronic violin...

"I think that's just sweet, I was the same at that age!" the blonde girl smiled at the both of them. "Hey, you okay, Iris?"

"Peachy," the other girl flatly replied, muffled by her arms, hiding the red tinge of her cheeks from people' sight. "What do you want, Allen?" she blankly asked once Felicity was gone.

"Only to embarrass you. You're adorable when you're flustered, Princess," he lightly replied with a smirk.

She sighed, straightening up and finishing her beloved desert. She had given up the whole _'don't call me that'_ speech a long time ago. Why did she move in here again? Oh, yeah, her own music shop and all...

"Seriously, what do you want?" she deadpanned, not looking back up to see the smug look on his face.

"Your hair's a mess," Allen replied, a bit more serious. "I can see your split ends from here, so I want to offer you a little touch-up,"

"Then take your glasses off," the girl scoffed, but not without insecurely glancing at her locks. She had conditioner that prevented— Nope she definitely had a lot of split ends. "Ehh... How did...?" She sighed. "Fine,"

"I never kid about hair, you of all people should know that," Allen replied, crossing his arms and leaning back into the restaurant's chair. "How about tomorrow, at two o'clock?"

She nodded, and then Felicity showed up with Iris' bill, delicately placing it on the table since the girl had asked for it before Allen took the seat in front of her. Iris thanked her before she reached for her wallet, but Allen had already paid for her. She raised an eyebrow in question.

"A lady should never have to pay for her food while in my company," he replied, as if it was the only logical answer.

Iris rolled her eyes, but she still stood up. "I'm no lady, you of all people should know that," she replied with a smug smirk of her own, before she left, waving Clement and Felicity goodbye.

She headed straight for her house, extremely proud with her comeback. She couldn't remember the last time she felt that good after an encounter with her older brother, even if she knew he'd strike back even harsher next time. Still, she enjoyed that last little victory — was that Henry in her shop, holding a carton of eggs?

"Can I help you?" she asked, once she had pushed open the glass door.

She had only met Henry once during her first week, and that was the day she moved in. She had finally arrived at around six in the morning, and the old man, Dunhill, was it? had insisted that she bee-lined with him to the young man's farm to introduce her to him. Henry had short dark chocolate hair and bright, lime green eyes.

She loved limes.

"E-Err, yeah, sorry, you surprised me," he replied with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

"I live here," she teased with a kind smile. "Work, too."

"I know... I was actually searching for you," he admitted, smiling. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, which encouraged the farmer to follow through with his plan. "Uh, here," he said, handing her the carton of eggs. "Rod told me you loved baking, so I thought I'd give you silkie eggs from my farm..." he trailed off unsure of himself.

Smiling appreciatively, Iris accepted the gift. "Yeah, I really do," she confirmed with an even brighter smile. "Thanks, I'll be sure to save you a bit of whatever I make with this." She gently placed the carton of eggs on her shop's counter, before she looked back at Henry. "Hey, what's your favourite music genre?" she asked him, curious. She wanted to know everyone's preferences, just because she was that nosey.

"I don't listen to much music — you know, with the farm and all," Henry replied, scratching the back of his head once more. "S-Sorry, I really should be going..." he excused himself, muttering something resembling _'stupid, stupid, what are you saying...' _under his breath.

Iris was left alone before she could reply, pondering over what the hell had just transpired, and picked back up the carton of eggs. This was a sweet gesture on the farmer's part, and it gave the young woman inspiration to bake an innocently mouthwatering blueberry cheesecake. Once she stepped foot in her kitchen, she noticed the CD she had left on her counter island.

It was the one Neil had left, when they first met.

She had meant to give it to him next time he would come over, but over the last week, she didn't even see him. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was avoiding her. She glanced at the eggs, her sweet-tooth aching for cake, but then once she glanced at the plastic case she made up her mind.

She placed the eggs in the fridge, grabbed the CD and headed out. She walked around town for awhile, only to notice that the socially awkward blond was at his stall, talking with a particularly loud and chatty customer of his. She smiled and headed for the cliff's ramp, a spring in her step.

When she reached the animal dealer's stall — which didn't have any customers anymore — she walked up to him with the CD hidden behind her back.

"You don't have a farm, go away," he practically snapped at her, glaring at her.

"No, but I have something for you," she kindly said, ignoring his behaviour. "Here," she said, handing him the CD. "On the house," she added with a smile, before she waved at Rod and headed back towards her shop and home.

"Iris, wait!" she heard Neil say, making her turn on her heels, curious. "Why?" he demanded, his gaze slightly softened from confusion.

"I don't know what you have against me, but I'm not letting it bother me, Neil," she admitted, arms crossed, taking a step closer to him at the same time. Confidence radiated off of her in waves, you could practically surf on it. "Rod's friends are mine too, and I'm giving you a fair chance," she said, before she added with a slightly scrunched up nose, "Unless you happen to be named Allen."

Since he didn't reply, she decided to take her leave. After a few more seconds, Neil snapped out of it and looked over at Rod.

"Allen?" he asked, confused. Wasn't that...?

"Yeah, he's her older brother. Forgot to mention that, did I?" Rod asked, sheepishly scratching the back of his head with his hand.

Neil looked back at Iris, who was now walking along the brick pavement near her house.

"You two'll get along great, I just know it!" Rod added with a cheerful grin.

"Mmh," the other slowly replied, highly skeptical. "And what makes you think so?" he absentmindedly asked, rummaging through his stall to make sure everything was in the right place.

"Well, for one, she plays the electric guitar," Rod said, leaning a bit against his own stall. "Second..." he trailed off, thinking about what he was about to say. "Well, she's just really nice!"

"Yeah, how can I argue with that," Neil sarcastically replied, briefly glancing at his friend.

"I know, right?" the ginger smiled, tossing one of his dogs' a bone-shaped treat.

The red-eyed blond shook his head, but he kept quiet nonetheless. Yes, Iris had moved in town last week, but no, Rod hadn't been as absent as he had first thought. In fact, nothing had really changed yet. He pushed the thought out of his mind when one of his regulars walked up to him, asking for bird feed.

He looked back at the CD, fighting back a smile so badly that he was actually glaring at it.


	3. Chapter Three - Chatty?

**Chapter Three – Chatty..?**

"That still doesn't explain why you're here," Neil said, annoyed, as he crossed his arms.

It had been a normal summer day, for the animal dealer, at least, until Iris showed up at his stall. He had first warned her off, telling her she had no business there since she didn't have a farm of her own, again. Funny thing; she had just waved him off, telling him she was bored and just felt like hanging out with him.

It was Neil we were talking about. That wasn't even remotely possible.  
>...in his opinion, at least.<p>

Iris sighed, leaning against the nearby pen's sturdy wooden fence. "Fine, I'll tell you..." She bit her lip for a second, before she said, not looking up at him, "It's my day off, well, first one of the week. Rod's with Allen, and there's no way I'm willingly spending time with that twat. Still, I'm bored, and I'm sure you're too." That's when she glanced up at him. "Happy?"

"Hardly," the blond replied, his arms still crossed. "Not until you go away."

"Told you already, whatever you have against me, it's stupid," was her own reply, as she stubbornly crossed her arms in turn. Iris then turned her back on him ignoring his next reply, only to pet the alpaca that had been nudging her back for the last few seconds. "Aren't you a cutie?" she sweetly said, running one of her hands through the snow white animal's soft, wooly fur. "Even Lilly would be all over you," she added for herself, chuckling at the mental image.

"Who's Lilly?"

Iris blinked a few times, only to turn back at Neil. She hadn't been expecting that, nor that he had actually listened to her when she had been talking to the alpaca — which she had now named Snowflake. She smiled at him. "Only my best friend."

The other gave her a quick nod, before he went back to maintaining his stall. The brunette went back to giving her attention to Snowflake.

"So... You like Linkin Park?" she said to the blond, referring to the album she had given him a few days prior to that moment.

"Yeah, so?" Neil absent-mindedly replied, before he glanced at her.

"I like 'em too," she replied, letting the alpaca happily scoot back to its friends. "Have you met them once? You know, meet and greets?"

"Yeah, have you?" he asked back, the conversation starting to interest him. Starting, though, only that much.

She nodded with a fond, reminiscent smile, as she stared off in the distance. "I even had a short conversation with Phoenix on books. Nice guys." She looked back at him. "You play bass, right?"

The other's gaze narrowed, not particularly fond of the conversation's latest turn. He hummed in acknowledgement, though. He didn't need to ask why she suddenly brought that up, it was obvious in his irritated expression.

"Rod told me, before I came here," she said with a small smile. "He just couldn't shut up about his new friend," she told him, suppressing a laugh or two. "I have to admit, I was looking forward to finally meeting you."

That last part completely took him aback. "Are you serious?" he flatly risked, giving her his full attention for the very first time. It had been the polar opposite from his side.

"Of course!" she assured with a nod. "I hold honesty above all else; I wouldn't lie for something like that," she simply explained with a shrug. Since he didn't reply, she raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"No, no, no problem," he dismissed, shaking his head at the same time. "I just... wasn't expecting that." He wasn't going to tell her he had always dreaded her arrival the minute he had heard of her existence. No, that was something he would always keep for himself, no matter what.

The sound of a throat clearing pulled the two from their conversation. They both looked at the sound's direction, only to realize it was Henry standing in front of them. Iris smiled and waved him hello, noticing the carton of eggs he was holding right afterwards.

"Hey, Henry," Neil said, the whole 'Welcome to Neil's animals' thing with the local farmer dropped last year to his request. It was just weird, for Henry at least, since he had come practically each week to make sure his stocks were fine. He would have hated to suddenly run out of bird feed...

"Hey Neil," the lime-eyed farmer replied. "Hi Iris!" he cheerfully greeted her, more so than the other, handing the girl the eggs — whom accepted them with a small thanks. "How's everything, so far?"

"Oh, slowly getting used to everything, the usual." she kindly answered, the conversation the same as it had been the day before. And the one before that. "You?"

"You know, farming and stuff," he replied with a grin. "And those lemon poppyseed cookies were really good, thanks!"

"Oh, no problem," she replied, swiftly glancing at Neil before she looked back at the farmer. "I'm glad you liked them."

There was an awkward silence, completed with averted gazes, before Henry gave the animal dealer back his attention. "I was actually hoping to buy another alpaca," he said with a smile.

The other young man nodded, asking which one he wanted. While the two were discussing what needed to be sorted out, Iris led the wanted cutie out of its pen out of kindness. She had previously put down the carton on the stall's counter.

"Don't worry, you'll be in good hands, Snowflake," she softly cooed, letting the animal's soft fur once more, unaware that the two men were curiously watching her. Yep, it was the one she had been talking to earlier, talk about the chances! —cough.

"Snowflake, I like that name!" Henry exclaimed, before he thanked the young woman for her help and led the alpaca towards his farm.

Iris had stayed silent, a bit embarrassed. And silence it stayed as the animal dealer simply stared at her.

"What? I like animals, alright!" she said, crossing her arms as she looked away, a blush crawling up her cheeks. "Alpacas are a change from cats and dogs..."

Neil couldn't help but smirk at her. "So that's why you insisted on staying right here."

"I may have left this part out," she replied with a smile and a short nod, looking back at him with a smirk of her own. "Even so, all the things I said before were true. Honesty, remember?"

"So you just don't say everything," the other pointed out to her.

She chuckled. "Let the mind believe what it wants!" she cheerily replied, gazing upwards and waving her fingers in front of her as if she was casting a spell or something similar.

"And you bake for him?" Neil suddenly asked, uncharacteristically chatty.

Iris chuckled, shaking her head. "I just bake too much and give to random people. Henry, for some reason, showers me with eggs," she explained, looking at him. "If you want, I can make you something — consider it as a peace offering," she kindly added.

He just shook his head. "I'm not too fond of sweets," was all he said, before he went back to arranging things in his stall.

"Baking doesn't necessarily mean sweet, you know," Iris replied, taking a few steps towards him, slightly amused. "I could always hold the sugar, using the most bitter chocolate with sour limes or lemons," she theorized. "Or what about mouth-numbing black liquorice and blackcurrant cupcakes?"

"I'm good," he absent-mindedly declined once more.

She just shrugged. "Your loss then." Then she clapped her hands once, a gesture ignored by the other, and cried out an enthusiastic, "Oh!" and she left towards her home with a rather large grin, leaving the animal dealer in complete confusion.

"What was that all about?" he grumbled under his breath, shaking his head at the same time. "On second thought, don't care."

After a few moments she was back, a slight embarrassed blush dusting her cheeks. "Forgot my eggs..." she mumbled out, before dashing back towards her house once she grabbed the aforementioned product.

* * *

><p><span><strong>A.N.<strong>** So that's it for now, what do you think so far? Any objections; suggestions? I've got loads of future chapters already written out, but they're faraway in the story's timeline... I kinda know where I'm going with this ^^"**

**Have a nice day!  
>~Viid<strong>


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